In today's environment, it is important to authenticate and verify the identity of an individual in a number of situations. For instance, the Internet allows customers to purchase goods and services in a manner that is remote from the seller of such goods. Typically, the sellers provide their customers the option to pay for a purchase by a credit card. To complete a transaction, the purchaser usually enters credit card information on an electronic form provided by the seller on a web page.
The seller then determines the authenticity of the purchaser's credit card information. The seller's processes may include verifying that the credit card is valid, or verifying that the purchase will not exceed the credit limit for the credit card. Further, the seller may verify the credit card number and the associated billing address for the credit card holder are correct. Often, the seller is unable to determine if the purchaser is the valid owner of the credit card in a remote sales transaction. This is difficult to determine because if the unauthorized person can provide the billing information, normally, the purchase will be approved.
Other situations where it is would be helpful to identify an individual include identifying someone in a life-threatening situation, such as for law enforcement personnel and emergency medical workers. Further, it would be helpful if an intruder could be quickly identified during or shortly after the commission or attempted commission of a crime. In addition, it would be useful for law enforcement to have a mechanism for identifying individuals who use weapons to commit crimes.
Thus, a heretofore-unaddressed need exists for a solution that addresses the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.